


A Feeling of Intrigue

by RoseAmaranth



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Dad!Tony Stark, Feelings Realization, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Friendship, Harley Keener - Freeform, I Blame Tumblr, I Will Go Down With This Ship, Iron Man Stealth Suit, IronStrange, Kamar-Taj (Marvel), Levi - Freeform, M/M, Magic Carpet, Mentioned past Tony Stark/Pepper Potts, Peter Parker & Stephen Strange Friendship, Pining, Pre-Relationship, Sanctum Sanctorum (Marvel), Shenanigans, Sorcerer Supreme Stephen Strange, Tony Stark & Stephen Strange Friendship, Tony has adopted so many kids, Tony-centric, morgan stark - Freeform, the Cloak of Levitation - Freeform, tony stark is a little shit, two parts
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-19
Updated: 2019-06-19
Packaged: 2020-05-14 16:38:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,404
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19277245
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/RoseAmaranth/pseuds/RoseAmaranth
Summary: “Anthony Edward Stark! What the hell are you doing?!” The cape whirled back around and whooshed past them again, the gust of wind ruffling his hair into a sexy mess of black and white tufts. It was too attractive for Tony's poor heart. They stopped a few feet off the ground, Tony's head nearly touching the ceiling, and he smiled as innocently as he could.“We're bonding.”





	A Feeling of Intrigue

**Author's Note:**

> So...this became longer and more complex than I meant for it to be. I can't seem to keep things simple.
> 
> This was based on a text post I saw on Tumblr about Tony Stark riding the cloak like it was a magic carpet, which I fully intended on writing, but then it became so much more.
> 
> I hope you enjoy! Expect a part two sometime soon!
> 
> By the way, "douchebag" and "asshole" are totally canon now. Thank you, RDJ. :)  
> (If you don't know what I mean, a BTS video was shared with slightly different dialogue between Stephen Strange and Tony Stark in that one Endgame scene they had. It's on jimmy_rich 's instagram if you haven't seen it!)

Since the day he'd met Doctor Strange, Tony was in a constant state of intrigue. For starters, the guy spoke like someone out of a time machine that brought them one hundred or so years to the present. Seriously, _'hither to undreamt of'?_ Who did he think he was anyway? Then there was the fact he was a surgeon turned magician who could manipulate time and bend matter at will. Talk about a conflict of interest there. Tony didn't even want to start in on the dude's name. He was born to be a superhero, that Tony knew for certain.

 _Doctor Stephen Strange_.

One of the more interesting things about Strange was all the magic toys he had stored away in his palace. The first one he met, the cape Strange always wore, in particular caught his eye because clothes didn't just...do that. No, they didn't move on their own or communicate with people. He wanted to take it to his workshop and have FRIDAY run tests on it, but he didn't think the cape would appreciate that. Nor would the mystic man behind it. Or rather, in front of it.

Still, even a year after everything and Earth settled into a precarious sort of peace, he thought about the wizard and his magic museum. Only just downtown...

That began a beautiful friendship between the two, bonded closely from Titan and saving the world side-by-side. Stephen appreciated Tony's intellectual babbling, while Tony immediately fell for the charming wit and immense knowledge of the human body. Among many other things because that guy was seriously smart. They were definitely a pair, the dangerous combination of intellect and arrogance balanced by Stephen's cool demeanor and analytical style. Tony was rash recklessness to Stephen's careful calculation.

In other words, a perfect match.

 

The friendship blossomed over the following year, enough so that Stephen no longer set off the defense system in the tower when he teleported over and the Sanctum swallowed Tony up in warm energy the seemed to carry him weightlessly through to the vulnerable belly it's shell protected. Their barbed words and endless stimulating conversation lead to quiet revelations and moments of silent companionship. Tony trusted Stephen like few others, and he liked to think Stephen felt the same. It was nice, having someone so much like him, yet different in the most fascinating ways.

Tony, somehow, found himself looking in the mirror at a man in love. How it happened, or when for that matter, was lost to him, but there it was. Plain as day in the glow behind his eyes and the stupid dreamy curl to his smile. Damn him. He had sworn off falling for fellow supers, especially ones he worked so closely with, yet he'd somehow gone and done _just that_. And a magic user of all people! After the whole mess that was the Avenger's civil war between him and Steve, he couldn't believe his heart betrayed him and decided to throw itself into Stephen's scarred, trembling, delicate, yet incredibly strong and gentle hands.

Who was he kidding? He'd been doomed from 'douchebag'.

Such a revelation was terrifying for him because, as much as he and Stephen got along, as much as Stephen chuckled at his antics and made his heart sing, there was the definite probability that Stephen didn't feel the same way. Their friendship was exactly what Tony wanted, what they both needed. And he couldn't bear to wreck it with the stupid emotions he should have caught and destroyed long before. So, he told the man in the mirror to get it together and shoved it all away into a dark corner of his mind before he hurriedly finished dressing for the charity dinner he and the team had to attend.

(And wasn't Stephen a sight for sore eyes that night, the perfect picture of social poise and elegance in a sharp midnight blue suit that complemented his eyes and hugged his body far too nicely for Tony's sanity.)

 

After a long meeting where Steve and Rhodey went over a few different small missions (mostly meant to keep the Avengers busy and out of trouble, Tony guessed), he stretched his cramped muscles and ushered Peter into the hall.

“What is it, Mister Stark?” He glanced around, unable to fight the energy and curiosity under his skin.

“Do you want to do something possibly dangerous to our very beings?” Peter perked up, though he frowned up at Tony anyway. With good reason. Usually, Tony was fighting to keep Peter out of trouble. This particular mission, however, was going to be dangerous for Tony only. Peter was only going to help with one small thing.

“Sure, Mister Stark. What's the mission?”

They stared up at the window of the Sanctum, Peter chuckling. On the way to Greenwich Village, Tony had explained this need to get hold of that magic cape of one Doctor Strange ever since Titan, and Peter had relaxed visibly when it was revealed the mission involved nothing more than the wrath of Stephen.

“So, you sure about this?” Peter nodded in excitement, already hurrying to knock on the doors. They were going to attempt to take the cloak by distracting Stephen enough that Tony could find it. He just had to hope the cape wasn't going to fight him too hard once he did. With Peter gone, he placed a sound enhancing device to the wall and turned it up enough he could hear if Stephen and Peter were speaking to each other.

“Nice of you to drop in, Peter, though I am surprised you mentor isn't with you.”

“Oh, Mister Stark? Yeah, he's caught up in office stuff. Boring work. Besides, I feel like I haven't seen you in forever, doc!” Stephen's low laughter had Tony's heart leaping.

“I only saw you a day ago, remember? At the market?” Imagine getting to run into the handsome former doctor while shopping for vegetables...

“Oh right!” Tony pulled away from the building and soared to the roof, relieved to find a red metal door leading into the upper part of the Sanctum. He carefully pulled it open, wincing as it creaked and groaned with disuse and rust, but nothing happened, so he hurried inside and shut it as carefully as he could manage. He was wearing a new stealth suit fit with reflective panels to make him invisible to the naked eye. A new design long overdue that he fixed up at the insistence of Harley, the other intelligent teenager in his life.

How Tony had gone from no kids to like five was a mystery all it's own. Between Peter, Harley, Morgan, the blue half-android alien named Nebula (she would obliterate him if she found out he saw her as one of his children, but with their time together on the ship after Titan, he really couldn't help it), and of course Vision, Tony was rocketed fully into a dad role he was often uncertain of but determined to make the best of. He wanted to be the best father he could be; one the kids in his life deserved.

He snuck past Peter and Stephen, who were playing some card game in the kitchen, Stephen chatting on about something new at the Kamar-Taj he often visited for days or weeks at a time. He didn't find the red cape in the room with the former doctor, so he continued into the building, peeking into rooms he'd never bothered with before. Some contained beds and basic furniture, others piled high with books and magic objects Tony really wanted to get his hands on. Maybe another day.

He finally found the cloak settled on a chair in a large bedroom, this one somewhat more furnished than the other but still as immaculate. When he spotted a desk against the wall with pages glowing under the sunlight spilling through a large window, washing the room in a warm glow, he realized it was a room that was actually in use.

It must be Stephen's.

He felt a little intrusive, standing just inside the doorway of someone's personal space, a place where someone was often the most vulnerable and intimate. He disabled the stealth mode and called softly to the cape, the collar poking up like an excited dog before it fluttered over to him and wrapped around him tightly. He passed a cursory glance around the room, at the bed that took up a large amount of space, the plush carpet the color of wine, a couple bookcases filled to the brim with books Tony had no doubt Stephen already read at least once, and a large wardrobe next to a full-body mirror. (What Tony wouldn't give to be that mirror..) It was elegant, much like Stephen, and other than the books and messy desk, completely devoid of any personal touches.

“Come on, Levi. Let's go scare the pants off Stephen.” Oh how he wished so much for that to actually happen. As it was, he would be lucky to leave with his hair on correctly or to not be turned into some hideous creature. He examined the red cloth of the cloak, the silky gold trim, and the heavy metallic clasps that held the cloak on Stephen's broad shoulders while he battled dimensional beings.

It struck a resemblance to another magical fabric being- the magic carpet. Having a young daughter currently in a Disney stage, he'd watched movies such a Frozen, The Lion King, and Aladdin more times than he ever cared to. She especially loved Princess Jasmine, which was why he was working on a pretty magical princess birthday party for her. The magic carpet was similar to the cape in that it burst with personality despite being just a rug, and it often fought with other characters, much like how Stephen and the cape often bickered.

(The cloak often won.)

“Levi, I have an idea.”

 

It wasn't really as thick as the magic carpet seemed to be, but he was able to hop on after talking it through his plan for a few minutes. It seemed to understand him, despite how stupid he felt trying to explain how he was going to ride it like a magic carpet in a movie he watched, helping him into a comfortable position and offering its collar before taking off down the hall. He cried out in surprise, the cape soaring down the stairs and right past a startled Stephen and a laughing Peter.

“Go Mister Stark!”

“Anthony Edward Stark! What the _hell_ are you doing?!” The cape whirled back around and whooshed past them again, the gust of wind ruffling his hair into a sexy mess of black and white tufts. It was too attractive for Tony's poor heart. They stopped a few feet off the ground, Tony's head nearly touching the ceiling, and he smiled as innocently as he could.

“We're bonding.” He took special pleasure in being three-named by the furious sexy wizard, his name far more alluring and _powerful_ wrapped in that smoky baritone timbre. Gosh, what Tony would do to get Stephen to call him _'Anthony'_ again. Stephen crossed his arms, blissfully unaware of the state of Tony's thoughts.

“You are a nearly fifty-year-old man flying around on the Cloak of Levitation. “ Tony laughed.

“You need to learn to have more fun, Stranger. Maybe you wouldn't have white hair already if you learned to just unclench once in a while.” He noticed belatedly that Peter had his phone out. Oh, this would be good. “Catch me if you can, doc!” The cape shot down and whipped past them, right out the doors and into New York. People cried out in surprise, then in fascination, as he soared into the air. Sunlight warmed his skin, the balmy wind tossing his thick hair into a massive tangle he would have to battle later on. They zig-zagged through the sky, swooping down to where Stephen and Peter stood with a circle of people around them, phones directed at the two before sweeping back to Tony. He waved at Peter's own phone as he passed, Stephen's angry shout lost in the wind in his ears as the cloak too off once more.

(The video went viral only a week later, Stephen becoming a meme much to the sorcerer's chagrin.)

 

After the little stunt he and Peter pulled, Stephen refused to let them in the sanctum. He explained that the sorcerers were an underground organization that needed complete discretion in order to carry on in their duties. Having any of them so exposed as Stephen had been, especially considered he was their Sorcerer Supreme, was a massive mark against him. He was internet famous and that was a bad thing for 'The Order'.

Peter and Tony worked to take down every video online, with the help of FRIDAY, but the damage had been done. People gathered outside the Sanctum at all hours, taking pictures of Stephen leaving or coming back, converging on him when he stepped out in his sorcerer gear to fight off a massive worm creature bent on eating everything in its path. People dressed up like him, Tony, and even Peter (though at least his identity as Spider-Man was secret), taking pictures when Stephen shopped or went for a walk. He was a celebrity now, much like Tony, but he hated it whereas Tony basked in the attention.

 

“Tony, I'm going away for a while. Can you please keep an eye on Wong for me?” He stumbled to his feet as Stephen closed the portal in his lab. Leaving? What- What if something happened that required Stephen's particular area of expertise? Hell, what if _Tony_ needed him during his absence? Stephen often helped Tony with various injuries after a mission. Tony kind of liked those quiet moments with the sorcerer, watching the concentration and concern dance in those galaxy eyes of his.

(With the feelings he now carried around like a familiar ache instead of sharp pain every time Stephen so much as smiled, those intimate sessions left him flustered and wishing he could find the courage to just kiss him.)

Not that Stephen, like, had to take care of Tony or anything (he was a grown man after all, and was taking care of things long before Stephen came along), but still. It was convenient having a medical doctor so close who knew him and the team. And aside from being there for Tony physically, Stephen was his rock in many ways, the one he turned to when times were hard and he wanted to run away from Iron Man and Ross and responsibilities. He often wanted to be selfish, but Stephen helped him to stay strong, to keep fighting for those who needed them. Sure, he could live without Stephen, he wasn't a dependant, but he really didn't like a world where the wizard was across the globe. Even if it was temporary. 

What if there was an attack? Tony's anxiety would be through the roof in Stephen's leave.

“What? Where?” Stephen fiddled with something on Tony's desk, meeting his eyes.

“Kamar-Taj. I have a responsibility there to train a few new students of the Mystic Arts. Plus, I can't handle this- this fame anymore. I know it probably seems stupid to you, especially with how I used to be before the accident, but this life is not of interest to me anymore. I'm hoping by disappearing, everything will blow over and I can come back to peace and quiet once again." Tony highly doubted the world would forget the striking sorcerer with the commanding presence and beautiful eyes. Peter told him daily how in love people were with Stephen according to the internet.

Could he _blame_ them?

“Oh. Okay. Um, yeah. I'll keep an eye on Wong. Is this going to strictly be a 'Do Not Disturb' time?” Stephen smiled at him then and drummed a beat on the desk with his fingers.

“It never really is with you, Tony. My only request is that you don't call on me unless it's an emergency. I need to be able to focus.” Tony bit his lip, mulling over his next question. He didn't want to sound like a needy girlfriend unable to deal with separation from her boyfriend, but he didn't like that Stephen was going to be across the world, far from New York and Tony Stark. It was comforting to him to know someone so extremely powerful, whom he also trusted, was nearby.

“Um, what about visitation?” Now Stephen watched him with openly curious eyes. Tony fiddled with a pen and waited.

“Is _the_ Tony Stark going to miss me? Stephen Strange? I feel like this is a rare honor.” He winked and touched Tony's hand briefly, electricity skittering over his skin at the contact. He was so going to miss his Sorcerer. “I suppose I can allow a visit or two while I'm gone, so long as you text first. For in-person updates and coffee, I presume?” Tony only nodded, relieved that Stephen wasn't shutting him out too. He wasn't sure he could take that so soon after the loss the war with Thanos brought: the kid, Pepper, his former teammates- the list went on. At least Peter and Stephen, among an army of others, returned. Steve and his band of rogues on the other hand, well, Ross was still up his ass about them. And Pepper decided she needed a more stable life, away from Tony and his suicide missions. 

Above everything complicated and crazy about the events of the past couple of years, Tony was simply a man in love. A stupid decision on his part, but it was the truth. Tony was also a reasonable and realistic man who knew Stephen had other (more important) things to do other than entertaining Tony when he was bored or upset. It didn't mean he was emotionally fine with Stephen leaving (logic and emotion often failed to get along). At least there was technology he could use to connect with Stephen. 

“How long will you be gone, then? I'll need to let everyone know.” Tony prayed for a week, maybe two, but he had the feeling Stephen was looking for a longer break. It didn't settle well with him, but Stephen certainly deserved it. Besides, Tony knew his duties were with the magic people first, Avengers second. It didn't help the sadness weighing him down, the loss he already felt even with Stephen right there.

“A couple of months. Shouldn't be any longer than a year.” A _year_?! An entire year without someone to bounce ideas off of or to vent to when things were particularly stressful? Someone who was probably the most interesting person Tony knew; and he knew the Avengers!

“Wow. Okay. An entire year. Well, good luck then, Merlin.” Stephen chuckled.

“I'll do my very best. Training the new sorcerers is a test of one's patience and will, that's for sure. I will see you soon, Tony. Please be careful, okay?” He snapped up to meet Stephen's eyes, watching the concern and humor dance around in them like a flame on a candle. The man was so beautiful. Breathtaking, even. And not just in the physical sense (although Tony couldn't think of many who compared to those starlight eyes and sharp cheekbones). 

No, he was absolutely.. winsome, inside and out. Caring and compassionate when few deserved it. Kind. Arrogant but not flashy (at least, not all the time. He had a few magic tricks Tony knew were just for show). Self-conscious and often self-loathing, but quick to remind someone all the best things about themselves, picking up shattered pieces and mending people back together like the doctor he still was at heart. 

Tony truly loved - the kind of terrifyingly deep, raw emotion he only ever read about in stories - everything about the sorcerer; even the magic he wielded had Tony fawning more than fearful. Those feelings he hid inside burned against his chest and eyes, choking him as they clawed their way up his throat and demanding to be spit out into the air as Stephen left through another portal, a small wave and a smile the last things he saw before he was gone.

If a tear or two fell, well, no one needed to know but him. Well, and Dum-E, but he wouldn't tell.


End file.
